BFAR Provides Help to Flood-Affected Fish Farmers

PHILIPPINES - The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) will provide fishers and pond owners, affected by the recent monsoon, with fingerlings, a statement said.

According to BFAR Director Asis Perez, the agency will be providing fingerlings, fishing paraphernalia, and appropriate livelihood assistance.

Mr Perez said that fish losses caused by recent heavy rains and flood due to typhoons "Ferdie" and "Gener" and southwest monsoon have reached more than P387 million, affecting about 3,000 fishers and fishpond owners in Luzon.

He said adversely affected were fishers in Ilocos, Central Luzon, and Calabarzon as floods caused fishponds to overflow, losing P377-million worth of fish (bangus, tilapia, prawns, shrimps, and mudcrabs), and damaged P10-million worth of fishpond infrastructure, small fishing boats, and fishing equipment.

Mr Perez added that fishers were also adversely affected in Pampanga, as losses topped more than P262 million; followed by Bulacan, P84 million; Bataan, P15 million; Cavite, P6.5 million; and Pangasinan, P5.78 million.

In Central Luzon, some 2,300 fishpond operators were affected, as they lost millions of fish fry and fingerlings, and 205 tons of harvestable milkfish, tilapia, prawns, mudcrabs, and shrimps.

Mr Perez said 16 per cent of the 40,285 hectares of fishponds in Region 3 were affected, including P2.9-million worth of fishing facilities and infrastructure that included two units of payao (a fish aggregating device consisting of a floating raft to attract pelagic and schooling species common in deep waters) in Mariveles, Bataan worth P1.2 million each) and 30 units of fish traps in Malolos, Bulacan worth P90,000, and motorized and non-motorized bancas, in Mariveles.

In Region 1 (Pangasinan and La Union), 96 fishpond operators were affected, as they lost P6-million worth of fish. The BFAR research facility in Dagupan was also damaged, worth P90,000.

In Region 4A, total damage was P14.9 million, including P7.8-million worth of fish lost, and P6.5-million worth of facilities that included 169 units of boats and banca.

In Cavite and Laguna, 293 units of fishing gears estimated at P504,000, and 10 units of fish caretakers' hut worth P100,000 were also damaged by typhoon Gener.

In Batangas, the monsoon rains also affected 115 seaweed farmers in Calatagan, as 30,000 kilos of seaweeds and bamboo rafts were swept away by strong waves or 'storm surge.'

Some fishpens in Laguna de Bay, especially in Cardona, were also partially damaged, losing some more than 100,000 pieces of bangus.